Epilogue
Two years later...
Over the course of his life, Danny had been nervous a lot. Before big games, when he’d come out to the whole world via social media, the moments before he’d first met Eliot… it was a long list.
None of them compared to how he felt right now.
“What if she hates me?” he asked, stopping Eliot in his tracks by grabbing his sleeve.
Eliot turned to look at him, his eyes soft and fond. “She won’t hate you. How could anyone hate you? You’re basically a giant teddy bear.”
Danny shifted his weight between his feet, taking a few deep breaths.
“If you’re not sure about this, we can go. I’ll go in and explain, and we can put all of this on hold for a while.”
Taking a final deep breath, Danny shook his head. “No. I am sure, I’m just… scared.”
Eliot reached out and took his hand. “Me too. But I think we can handle this, between the two of us.”
Danny nodded and let Eliot lead him inside, trying to figure out what he was going to say. This was a big moment in their lives, and he didn’t want to screw it up.
Their case worker smiled at them the moment they walked in, beckoning them over to a table.
Beside her, there was a little girl with her mousy-brown hair tied into pigtails, peering over the table and gripping the edge with her tiny hands.
At least Danny wasn’t the only one who was nervous.
“Hello,” Eliot said in his most child-friendly voice. “You must be Melody. I’m Eliot.” He offered his hand. “And this is Danny.”
Melody paused for a few moments, then slowly extended her hand. Not bad for a two-year-old. Danny would have burst into tears if a strange man had approached him when he was that age.
Even if the strange man had been Eliot.
“She’s heard all about you,” Mrs. Rhys said, smiling warmly at the two of them.
Eliot sat down, tugging on Danny’s hand to get him to do the same. Danny sat heavily, afraid his knees were going to give out on him for reasons completely unrelated to any injury.
They were actually doing this. They were going to be parents.
He could hardly believe it.
“We’ve heard all about you, too,” Eliot continued.
Danny felt as though he should be saying something, but he was too overwhelmed to think of anything useful to add.
Melody looked straight at him.
Well, now he was definitely going to have to say something.
“Umm.” Danny swallowed. “Hi, sweetheart. I like your bows,” he nodded to the ribbons in Melody’s hair.
“Thank you,” she said, breaking into a toothy grin.
Danny breathed a sigh of relief. This was fine. He could do this. Everyone was nervous, not just him, and he had every reason to be.
It wasn’t every day you took a big step toward becoming a father.
“You’re tall,” Melody added, looking at Danny again.
